darn

¹

[ dahrn ]

adjective

1. darned.

verb (used with object)

1. to curse; damn:

   Darn that pesky fly!

darn

²

[ dahrn ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to mend (torn clothing, especially of knitted fabric) with rows of stitches, sometimes by crossing and interweaving rows to span a gap:

   At the sound of my greeting, Grandma looked up and stopped darning the sock, holding her arms out for a hug.

noun

1. a darned place, as in a garment:

   That old sweater full of darns was one of my favorite things to put on after work.

darn

¹

/ dɑːn /

interjection

1. a euphemistic word for damn damn damn damn damn

darn

²

/ dɑːn /

verb

1. to mend (a hole or a garment) with a series of crossing or interwoven stitches

noun

1. a patch of darned work on a garment
2. the process or act of darning

Derived Forms

• ˈdarner, noun
• ˈdarning, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of darn¹

First recorded in 1775–85; darned

Origin of darn²

First recorded in 1590–1600; origin unknown

Word History and Origins

Origin of darn¹

C16: probably from French (Channel Islands dialect) darner; compare Welsh, Breton darn piece

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. give a darn. damn ( def 14 ).

Synonym Study

See mend.

Example Sentences

Current Democratic leadership must not be allowed to persuade the party’s voters that, well, darn it, with some message-tweaking and focus-grouping and meme-management everything will be OK.

From Salon

The current Democratic leadership has decisively failed, and must not be allowed to persuade the party’s voters — whether described as moderate, liberal, progressive or something else — that, gosh darn it, we lost but we sure fought hard, and somehow Elon Musk and the Russians are to blame.

From Salon

I’d like to recommend the actual perfect hiking sock, Darn Tough’s Coolmax Hiker Boot mid-weight hiking sock.

From Los Angeles Times

Over the years, Nickelodeon has come pretty darn close.

From Los Angeles Times

“Any official reading it would know darn well that a letter like the letter that was sent in our case was unconstitutional. Full stop.”

From Slate

Related Words

• dang
• doggone